The Equations of Life

"In a fascinating journey across physics and biology, Cockell builds a compelling argument for how physical principles constrain the course of evolution."

"Cockell's book lucidly addresses biology's great mystery: If we grant that life is an interplay of chance and necessity, in the words of the French biochemist Jacques Monod, then which has the upper hand?"

"If a ladybug lands on you while reading this provocative perspective, don't swat it away before you've taken a good look. Astrobiologist Cockell uses the insect, along with assorted microbes and other earthly residents, to reassess the story of life both on and beyond our planet."

"Both magisterial and collegial, this may be the biology book of the year."

"Many readers...will relish a lucid, provocative argument that the dazzling variety of organisms produced by 4 billion years of evolution may seem unbounded, but all follow universal laws."

"Life as we know it arises from an interplay between biological chance and physical necessity. What about life as we don't know it? To think about life on other planets, we need to understand how things could have been different. Charles Cockell's book is a fascinating new look at this question, offering surprising insights on just how constrained biology can be by the laws of physics."

"Nature's intricate diversity offers immense challenges to biologists--and inspires the rest of us with wonder and delight. But despite its diversity, the entire biosphere is governed by unifying principles--all living things are assemblages of atoms, governed by gravity and other basic forces. This riveting book--fully accessible to the general reader--shows how all Earthly life (and indeed any alien life elsewhere in the universe) emerges through the operation of basic physical laws and is constrained by what these laws permit. Charles Cockell is not only a fine scientist but a fine writer too."

"Want to know about alien life? According to Charles Cockell, you can learn from the living things all around you, right here on Earth. Whether on this third rock from the Sun or another planet in a far-distant galaxy, creatures should share forms and behaviors shaped by the forces of natural selection and the fundamental laws of physics that reign throughout the universe. In this enlightening, entertaining book, Cockell explains how extraterrestrials might not be quite so 'alien' after all."

"Fascinating. A profound exploration of the deep nexus between physics and biology."

"An intriguing and enthralling adventure into the physics of life that is all around us and inside us. Cockell provides a reminder of the seeming rarity of all this beauty but also an invitation to look up to the skies and ask 'where else might something like this be?'"